Arsenal: Samuel Umtiti transfer circus officially underway

Arsenal need help with getting their defense young and stronger. Samuel Umtiti would have done both those things, and now the circus begins.

The more Arsenal improve, the more I get excited to see how this summer shapes up, because it’s clear that Unai Emery knows what he’s doing, his plan is in motion, now he just needs to get more of his guys in there and cut those that don’t fit in.

The defense figures to be heavily effected by any movement, with the need for great, young centerbacks to make their way to the club. Matthijs De Ligt was talked about for a few blissful days, but then, when Barcelona looked more likely for him, the man he was displacing, Samuel Umtiti, came front and center.

Obviously either one would be just fine, as long as we got one. And the rumors were tying Umtiti to a move and the move made sense, and everyone was going to be happy, but within days, counter reports announced that Umtiti would be staying put to fight for his spot.

Fair play, if true. But all this really does is kick into motion the transfer circus of anonymous reports claiming one thing, only to be disputed by an opposite anonymous report claiming the other.

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Maybe Umtiti’s barber can say that he thinks the man is leaving, then the the grocer at Umtiti’s local market can say that he thinks he staying. Everyone is an expert when it makes headlines, and now that we have our first counter reports, it’s all in motion, just the way that the media likes it.

It’s in the middle of the season. Umtiti isn’t going to go off barking about how he’s stoked to leave the club if De Ligt comes to replace him. He’s going to deliver that cookie-cut response about how he’s focused on the here and now at the club and nothing more. That’s what all players are trained to do solely to avoid circuses like these.

What happens in the summer is a completely different story. Even if Umtiti is currently feeling like he can fight for a spot, things can change pretty easily when he starts seeing a Champions League berth with Arsenal, a guaranteed starter job, and a cornerstone spot on a historic team moving into a new era.

Or maybe none of this matters and nobody knows anything. The point is, we won’t know until next September. So let the games begin.